That was a long time coming, though. Apparently she hadn't even been well enough to speak for some weeks now. Sad for her family, her son has been having a hard time lately.

True terror lies in the futility of human existence.

Malcolm Reynolds is my co-pilot.

"The only freedom deserving the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest." - John Stuart Mill

TwistedSister wrote:Michael Jackson, this afternoon. Heart gave out on him.Holy freekin crap!He was a strange dude, but talented.Three in one week, they must be planning a talent show someplace.

Didn't you know? Famous people always die in threes.

True terror lies in the futility of human existence.

Malcolm Reynolds is my co-pilot.

"The only freedom deserving the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest." - John Stuart Mill

I was just about to start a new thread about Jackson, 'till I saw this.

It's a damn shame such an incredibly talented dude got so screwed up by his family and by circumstance and had to die so ignominiously.

I guess it's for the best; he was not a happy guy. I mean, happiness must be next to impossible when you're getting the flashy red pants sued off of you by every second person you meet for everything from business unfairness to child molestation...

I hope you're on the recieving end of an improbability equation wherein something happens to you that's as unlikely as Rob Schneider winning a best actor Oscar on the same day Michael Jackson single handedly captures Osama Bin Laden. ~ Rainswept

O.K. Everything else is just stuff you do while you are waiting to have sex. Sin. WoE. ~ Warlord of Elephants

TwistedSister wrote:Michael Jackson, this afternoon. Heart gave out on him.Holy freekin crap!He was a strange dude, but talented.Three in one week, they must be planning a talent show someplace.

Didn't you know? Famous people always die in threes.

I remember discussing this with my brother when Princess Diana died; he was unaware of the phenomenon. I pointed out that Mother Theresa had also just passed shortly before Diana and mused, 'I wonder who the third one will be?'

TwistedSister wrote:Michael Jackson, this afternoon. Heart gave out on him.Holy freekin crap!He was a strange dude, but talented.Three in one week, they must be planning a talent show someplace.

Didn't you know? Famous people always die in threes.

I remember discussing this with my brother when Princess Diana died; he was unaware of the phenomenon. I pointed out that Mother Theresa had also just passed shortly before Diana and mused, 'I wonder who the third one will be?'

He answered, 'It's already happened. Tupac.'

Wow.

Well, only the third one was worth anything, or did anything worthwhile to be famous for, so...

I hope you're on the recieving end of an improbability equation wherein something happens to you that's as unlikely as Rob Schneider winning a best actor Oscar on the same day Michael Jackson single handedly captures Osama Bin Laden. ~ Rainswept

O.K. Everything else is just stuff you do while you are waiting to have sex. Sin. WoE. ~ Warlord of Elephants

I personally don't care about MJ's death because I don't know him. His music is good and he did a lot for the industry but besides that he was just another celebrity. Must be "my generation."

I'm going to be irritated by the massive coverage of him over the next month(s). There probably more important things going on right now.

I think deaths of celebrities are so big because it reminds people of their own mortality. Or, the uncynical part of me would like to think so.

“We are often hesitant to look at other faiths or to examine our own critically because we feel that, in doing so, we are being disloyal to our own deeply felt convictions. ... And yet our beliefs are not worth very much if they cannot stand up to any scrutiny.” -- James Livingston.

Rainswept wrote:TV is calling him "The most famous man in the world." Do we think that's true?

My guess would have been Bush. I know it certainly used to be Michael Jordan.

Right now he is, because he's quite famously dead.I would say that he has been the most famous person in the world several times. When "Thriller" came out, when he was accused of child molestation, right now for being dead, and maybe a couple of other times that I can't think of. Lots of people get to be the "most famous" for a while - Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush, Barack Obama - probably lots of heads of state are, at least briefly, along with music icons and some sports icons. If someone discovers time travel or immortality, they'll be tops for a while.

Mrs. T and I sometimes play a morbid little game. When someone famous dies, the news has it that day, and the next day there's some retrospective or something, and depending on how famous they were, it can go on for quite a while. We'll be saying "Well, it looks like Michael Jackson is still dead" for at least a couple of weeks, I'm sure. Personally, I don't really care whether he's alive or dead, I never cared much for his music, and he was just too bizarre. It's just another senseless piece of fluff news they'll use to avoid talking about issues that actually matter.

"Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens."("Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.")-- Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-- Philip K DickOK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard.-- Dr. JoyEnglish isn't much of a language for swearing. When I studied Ancient Greek I was delighted to discover a single word - Rhaphanidosthai - which translates roughly as "Be thou thrust up the fundament with a radish for adultery."

But somehow, I was saddened. Never again will I hear another song like 'Billie Jean' or 'Thriller'...

I hope you're on the recieving end of an improbability equation wherein something happens to you that's as unlikely as Rob Schneider winning a best actor Oscar on the same day Michael Jackson single handedly captures Osama Bin Laden. ~ Rainswept

O.K. Everything else is just stuff you do while you are waiting to have sex. Sin. WoE. ~ Warlord of Elephants

I feel sorry for the guy. If he did molest any children, there's no excuse for it, but he had one screwed up childhood. I can't help but think that if he hadn't had such a bastard of a father, he could have done a lot more.

"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.'" - Carl Sagan

"To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection." - Henri Poincaré